Patreon Now Blocks AI Companies From Scraping Creators' Work

Patreon announced July 16, 2026 that it now blocks AI companies' automated programs from copying creators' work, using Cloudflare's tools to stop them at the network level instead of relying on a voluntary honor system that AI firms largely ignored since 2023. Weekly scraping attempts dropped from thousands to zero in testing. Search engines can still index pages. Product chief Drew Rowny said "creators deserve a meaningful say in how their work is used by AI companies."